The Way I Danced With You
by IrishIris
Summary: She'd made her decision, but some truths he just can't accept. Oneshot.


A/N: I do not own either Labyrinth or Careless Whisper (George Michael version or otherwise) *sigh*

The Way I Danced With You

He's been addicted to her for as long as he can remember. Long ago, he could get his 'high' by simply staring at her from his crystal balls. Then he worked his way up to disguising himself in public and just watching her. True, many humans in this century (rather, most centuries) would call this a criminal offense, but he couldn't help himself. He loved her, mind and soul, and could never get enough.

When he finally got the courage to leave the small, red leather book in her room, he knew it was just a matter of time before his wishing and wanting would be fulfilled. She would be his.

But his hopes were dashed on the rocks of the teenager's will and since that day, his world has been dark. Still enduring the yearning, craving for her company; time _does_ make the heart grow fonder, and drives its possessor crazy from the withdrawal.

All her dreams had come true, he'd seen to that. An actress on the illuminated stage, that's what his Sarah had been all along, and now he got to watch every night as hundreds of humans saw the brilliance he'd always seen.

So tonight, he was sitting in a trendy little jazz bar in the middle of the great city Sarah now called home. She was here with some friends celebrating the successful final performance of her latest production. It never mattered how many times he'd seen her that week, month, or year. Her beauty never ceased to amaze his jaded Fae eyes, and tonight was no different. She, like many of the other patrons, was dressed in all black, an elegant dress that stopped just above her knees and hugged her body in ways he only dreamed of doing. The effect was only magnified when she danced, whether during upbeat tunes with her girl friends, or the occasional slow song with any of her male acquaintances. Not that Jareth would know regarding the latter; he always left the room when a slow song came on. She hadn't had any serious relationships in the ten years since she'd been Underworld, though, so Jareth had to at least be thankful for that.

Just then, the saxophone player began a wailing, pleading melody that had all the patrons of the club pairing up. Just what Jareth wanted- a slow song. He was about to make his exit when he noticed Sarah had taken a seat and chosen to sit the number out. Not believing his luck, Jareth didn't even consider an alternative as he let his feet lead his heart. Making sure his glamour was firmly in place, he stopped in front of her and extended his hand. To his shock, Sarah took his offering and allowed herself to be pulled up into his arms.

_I feel so unsure, as I take your hand and lead you to the dance floor._

They began to sway, and not completely because of the music. Jareth's heartbeat was as erratic as his breathing, and the ever suave Goblin King was feeling butterflies for the first time. Their first dance in the peach-induced ballroom had been nothing to cause him worry, since he'd had every intention of capturing his Sarah that very night. Now he knew that there were no guarantees when it came to his current dance partner.

_I'm never gonna dance again, guilty feet have got no rhythm._

He'd known from the first moment her face appeared in his crystal ball that she was his destiny, all he would ever be satisfied with, but with her in his arms again, the truth came like a crushing blow, and he was put further off-balance. She was his entire existence, and she didn't even know it.

_Time can never mend, the careless whispers of a good friend. _

"You have no power over me," a little, sing-songy voice in the back of his head reminded him. How he wished he could erase that short sentence from his mind forever. But no matter how hard he tried to forget or whatever he used to fill in this gaping hole, he burned for Sarah Williams.

_To the heart and mind, ignorance is kind. There's no comfort in the truth, pain is all you'll find._

He wondered what he was doing out here, on a small, crowded dance floor, swaying with his everything when she didn't even know who she was really dancing with. It was a fact of reality though; she would never know who he really was. For all he knew, she thought of their thirteen hour encounter as a dream, or at the very least, an elaborate figment of her imagination. No matter how close he could try to get to her, she was covered by unseen glass, untouchable.

_Tonight the music seems so loud, I wish that we could lose this crowd._

His helpless feeling grew as the crowd pressed and she took a step closer to him. He was being distracted in a thousand different ways and wasn't sure if he could focus enough to keep the glamour in place if this kept up. He wanted so badly to just let it fall and whisk her away, back to the Underground with him. But he knew she'd made her choice all those years ago, and nothing was going to change that.

_We could have been so good together, we could have lived this dance forever._

Jareth had seen a thousand fantasies play out in his mind of what an eternity with Sarah Williams would have been like. The children they could have brought up, the kingdom they could have run, the Queen she would have blossomed into: he'd imagined it all, and then thrice over. His fantasies were an escape from the horrors he had to accept as reality.

_So I'm never gonna dance again the way I danced with you._

The song was coming to an end and Sarah was taking her head off his shoulder ("when did that happen?" he wondered absently) and she looked him in the eye for the first time. His resolve shattered in that moment and his glamour broke into tiny pieces on the wooden floor. The sudden shock to Sarah's system was too much and she began to faint away. She would have crumpled into a beautiful heap if Jareth hadn't tightened his arms around her and balanced her against his chest. The huge amount of contact was all Sarah needed for revival, though, and she immediately shoved away from him. Her eyes shone in fury and she whispered hotly,

"You have no power over me, remember?"

Before he could even formulate a sentence and send it through his mouth, she'd given him one last glaring, warning look and then had pressed through the crowd, disappearing faster than even he sometimes could.

_Now that you've gone, was what I did so wrong, so wrong that you had to leave me alone?"_

Standing shell-shocked in the midst of so many humans, he rushed out the back door while trying not to make a scene. He took his avian form the moment fresh air rushed against his skin, transforming right in the middle of the dirty alley. He pumped his wings and forced himself higher and higher, blinking back salty tears. The dark, night sky welcomed him as he poured out his misery to the aether.

A/N: So what do you think? It's my first attempt at a Labyrinth fiction, so I'd very much appreciate a review. Free shrimp dinners to those who do!


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